Secrets Unveiled
by Prototype 2004
Summary: What really happened at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters while Harry was away? UPDATE - Chapter 5!
1. Nightly Encounter

**SECRETS UNVEILED**

by Prototype 2004

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.

01: Nightly Encounter

The room was slowly filling with utter darkness. Dusk crept cautiously behind the filthy windows while shadows danced ominously on the cracked and soiled walls. The icy cold swallowed up the air in a heartbeat. No warmth existed in this room, except one sleeping figure's own body heat. For evident reasons, one could barely believe people inhabited the house at all. Invisibly located between two other old homes, 12 Grimmauld Place was quite concealed away from the common Muggle eye. In fact, only a certain group of wizards and witches were acquainted with it at all: those which were part of the Order of the Phoenix and their families.

Suddenly, a muffled creak echoed throughout the soundless room. A faceless form appeared in the doorway, tip-toed into the room, and closed the door carefully. It seemed to hesitate for a brief second. Then it walked toward the bed and settled on the ground beside it. The figure took a deep breath, then whispered softly, "Hey, Ron."

The clouds shifted warily, and a strip of silver moonlight streamed through the window. The sleeping boy's face was illuminated brilliantly. The dark figure gazed, enthralled by the the shining scarlet locks. It leaned forward timidly, murmuring again. "I'm here. I came to you." Closing its eyes, it hovered over Ron, seemingly unsure of what to do. Then, as if realizing what it was carrying out, it stood up briskly, stepping away from the bed and sending a glass of water to shatter on the ground noisily. Heart beating wildly, the figure pulled out its wand hurriedly and shrieked, "_Conservo somnus!_"

Ron did not stir. The figure proceeded to shakily point its wand at the broken glass and mumble, "_Reparo!_" Afterwards it staggered out of the room, careful not to clatter the collecting silence yet again.

Unseen, a black-haired face had appeared in a blank portrait on the wall closest to the door. Before disappearing again, it smirked slyly.

_To Be Continued..._

** Notes: **Hello there! *waves* I joined FF.Net a while ago, but this is my first story. Hope you like it! More is coming soon.


	2. Thrill Ride of Feelings

**SECRETS UNVEILED**

by Prototype 2004

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.

02: Thrill Ride of Feelings

Ron opened his eyes wearily. A glimpse at his watch showed that it was noon. Heaving a great sigh, he pushed his blanket off and stood up, stretching out his long arms. Then the cold air took an effect on him, and he hopped around the room, trying to find the protection of his warm, wooly maroon socks. Finishing his morning duties, the lanky boy ran his hand through his crimson hair, attempting once again to straighten out the oddly-positioned locks. A voice rang out of the ornate portrait on the cracked wall, remarking, "Quite scruffy now, aren't we boy?" Ron glared at it, irritated. _And Harry thinks he's got a hair problem,_ he though gloomily. 

_Bad mistake_. Ron gulped. Thinking of Harry -- all alone in Privet Drive with those Muggle gits -- caused him to feel an unpleasant churning in his stomach. Guilt. But he did want to tell him what had been happening lately. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't allowed to. And how much did he know, anyway? Brushing the distressing thoughts out of his mind, he headed for the door.

As soon as the door edged open, he collided unexpectedly with a smaller body marked by a bunch of very wild chocolate-colored hair. The impact sent him sprawling backwards and -- whack! His head smashed against the door, and he knew no more. The last thing he heard was someone shrieking his name frantically.

*

After what seemed like hours, Ron awakened yet again, a painful throb scattering throughout his head. At first, his azure eyes could see nothing but blurred visions. He sat up, looking around him curiously, trying to figure out where he was. The drawing room, apparently. Just as he remembered the event that had taken place before, a short and quite chubby red-haired woman stormed into the room, brightening up as she saw Ron's conscious form.

"Finally, awake, Ron dear? Well, I'm glad -- the poor girl's been sitting here by your side, worrying her head off -- she's miserable, you know. I told her you were going to be all right --"

Ron immediately perked up and glanced around to see who his mother was talking about. Previously unnoticed, she stood on a tattered chair close to the sofa he had been rested upon, her head held down and fast asleep. It was Hermione; no doubt, her puffy brown hair was instantly recognizable.

"Oh, so she was the one I bumped into," he remarked, realization dawning upon his face. "But, wait... when did she get here, Mum?"

"Last night. Her parents insisted on bringing her here in one of those Muggle automobiles, you know. They apparently couldn't find the house, the poor dears," Mrs. Weasley declared from behind the sofa. "I suspect that was why they got here so late. Of course, afterwards I tried explaining to them that this house is only granted access to certain wizards and witches, but I don't think they understood -- oh!" she exclaimed suddenly. "I think there might be something inside of this putrid piece of old furniture. I'm going to go ask Sirius..."

Her footsteps slowly died away through the empty corridors. Ron stepped down from the sofa, walking over to Hermione's sleeping form. Curiously, he noted that she had a wet towel in her hands. Had it been for him? Had she really stood by his side and took care of him? Ron's ears flushed scarlet, for some reason he could not understand. _She doesn't hate me then?_

Drawn in by a dreamy, mint-like scent, he felt the strange urge to get closer. Closing his eyes, savoring the fragrance...

That was when Hermione stirred, her head coming up so close to Ron's that it looked as if they were about to indulge into a passionate kiss. Her hazel eyes widened in utter surprise. In an awkward whisper, she murmured, "Uh, Ron."

That simple phrase sent Ron whizzing backwards into the opposite wall, his whole face and ears turning an unimaginable dark shade of scarlet.

He started mouthing speechlessly, trying to come up with something to say, but not succeeding at all. Hermione's face had also gotten rather pink -- she did not dare meet his gaze. The situation was well beyond what she could have dealt with. For the first time in her life, Hermione the "Know-It-All" was flustered as well.

The uncomfortable silence, however, was crushed when out of the blue, a pair of flaming-headed twins Apparated in mid-air, plummeting down seconds later with a hearty thud!

"Ouch!" they shouted in unison, picking themselves off the dusty floor and massaging their bruises.

"Well, that was a rather wild ride, wasn't it, Gred?" inquired George.

"Why, yes it was, brother Forge," Fred replied, shuddering in mock awe. "Ah, what've we got here?" he continued, glancing around and noticing Ron and Hermione.

The brunette mumbled something incomprehensible, striding towards the staircase as if a trance. "I was just... going upstairs."

Ron nodded violently in affirmation. After taking a long, deep breath, he followed her uncertainly.

"What's up with them?" Fred questioned, shaking his head at his twin brother. "You know, George, everyone's been too cheerful lately. How 'bout we...break up the fun?"

George grinned mischievously in response.

_To Be Continued..._


	3. In The Mind of She

**SECRETS UNVEILED**

by Prototype 2004

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.

03: In The Mind Of She

Hermione closed the door of the room she shared with Ron's sister, Ginny, in a daze. Flopping down her bed wearily, she pulled the blue moth-eaten and faded sheets to her face and closed her hazel eyes. She wished she could have owned a Pensieve; it would have really helped her sort out her puzzled contemplations. Ron and her... what was really going on? That was the essential question. But she did not know the whole answer to it. The brown-haired girl could barely come to terms with her own feelings, let alone trying to grasp the scarlet-haired boy's... Was it just a crush? Was it just teenage hormones acting crazily?

_Ah, tonight's going to be a long night, _she thought, sighing and leaning back on her pillow.

Just then, muffled footsteps echoed in the second floor hallway. Suddenly, they stopped. A thud was heard near the door -- Hermione started, uneasy and alert. A stifled giggle burst the apprehensive silence. Then the door inched open, allowing Ron's sister, Ginny, to go through and collapse on the smudgy carpet, laughing uncontrollably.

"G-Ginny?" Hermione inquired, taken aback.

The freckled girl shook her head, crawling next to Hermione's bed and holding on to the mattress for support.

"W-what is it? What's so amusing?"

"Goodness, I can't believe how clueless my brother is! Can you believe he was just standing beside the door, trying to decide whether to knock or not?" Ginny stated, as if that had been the dumbest thing in the world.

Hermione blushed. "H-he was? I-I mean, what's wrong about that?" responded she.

Ginny's mouth hung open. "What? Hermione, please don't tell me that you're in the same boat as him!"

"Er, I'm not sure what you mean..." the brunette replied.

"No! Hermione, I thought you were smarter than that!" Ginny exclaimed.

"But -- I just can't fully manage what's going on, that's all," she proclaimed weakly.

"Well, I think you're overreacting. You and Ron --" she pouted.

"I and Ron? What exactly are I and Ron? I'll tell you: we are nothing. Absolutely nothing," Hermione shrieked with renewed energy. Her face was scrunched up in exasperation. It was so very unlike herself to act in such a way, but she had had enough. The Yule Ball last year... the event that had provided her with insight into Ron's "feelings" for her... and now this. Just what did Ginny want her to do? Throw herself in his arms and live happily ever after? She frowned. Matters like this could not and should not be handled so easily. Besides, this was going too fast. All of a sudden, she had another thing to worry about: her relationship with Ron evolving into something so different. And what would happen with Harry? The brown-haired girl did not know what to do.

_So many complications_, she thought bitterly. "Look, Ginny," she sighed, "I appreciate your advice, but I-- I just can't do this right now. All right?" she smiled apologetically.

"Okay," Ginny replied, avoiding her gaze. "But you can't ignore this forever," she added softly, barely audible.

Hermione pretended not to hear; she busied herself in a thick, weathered book called _House-Elves of the 12th Century._

Tried as she did, the clever witch could not escape the firm voice in her head that whispered, "She's right, you know."

_To Be Continued..._

** Notes: **Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I really appreciate the support. :) 

By the way, watch out for chapter 4, "In The Mind of He", later in the week.


	4. In The Mind of He

**SECRETS UNVEILED**

by Prototype 2004

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros

04: In The Mind of He

Ron bounced off the stairs at top speed, with such renewed vigor that one would never guess he had been held unconscious just moments before. He quickly reached his destination on the first floor – a tattered, rotting wood door in the thick shadows of a corridor. Too quickly. However much his eagerness to apologize to Hermione might mislead, he did not, in fact, have a clue about what he was going to say. He could just imagine it now… Opening the door and saying cheerfully, "Oh, hello, Hermione. By the way – I just wanted to tell you – sorry for scaring you out of your bloody wits by taking a whiff like some sick bastard while you were bloody sleeping!"

_Yeah, that'll work_, thought Ron darkly. _Well, might as well sit down. I have a nasty feeling this is going to take a long time._

So the red-headed boy slipped down on the mucky ground and sat leaning against the peeling wall. His head swam with confusion and embarrassment at what he had subconsciously done. How could he explain himself to Hermione when _he_ hadn't reached a rational conclusion? It seemed utterly impossible.

And then, just as Ron had felt a temporary sense of bravery and inched his hand toward the rusty doorknob, before he could ponder the matter more closely, he was interrupted by the clattering noise of someone running down the steps from the second floor. He glared into the shadows and retreated his hand back swiftly.

"Who's there?" Ron demanded, straightening up to his full height.

"Ginny, you prat," the figure answered, coming into view and stopping in front of Ron. "I was looking for Hermione. What are _you_ doing here?" she asked, evidently amused.

"Oh, n-nothing. I dunno," he replied lamely, trying to draw attention from his ears, which had gotten red-hot again. They seemed to react like that whenever he replayed the scene in his head again, and for some odd reason, it had to be _now_.

Ginny took one good look at him, complete with fidgeting fingers and an avoidant expression, and started giggling like mad. She struggled past him and closed the door shut within a flash.

After a few moments, Ginny had calmed down and Ron heard the mumblings of a conversation. Wondering what Ginny had found so amusing, he took one last, longing look at the door and went to climb the staircase in uncertainity.

* * *

**Author's note:** Weeee-ell, I haven't updated in quite a long time. -pokes herself- What can I say...? Life just interferes... 


	5. The Redhaired Matchmaker

**SECRETS UNVEILED**

by Prototype 2004

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.

* * *

05: The Red-Haired Matchmaker

The next day, just as Ron was changing out of his pajamas on the edge of the bed, Ginny barged in the room.

"Is it such a bother to knock?" Ron cried indignantly, who had been in the process of pulling up his pants.

Ginny shrugged unconcernedly. "Why the need? I've seen you in your underwear loads of times. And there isn't much to see," she added teasingly with an innocent grin. The latter comment elicited a pillow right in the face from Ron.

"Okay, we're even," she giggled, rubbing her nose.

Ron shot her a nasty look. "So what d'you want?" he asked as he pulled on his maroon socks.

Ginny sighed and settled down on the bed. "To convince you to talk to Hermione," she finally replied.

"About what?" He tried to say this as nonchalantly as possible, but his ears betrayed his feelings. He knew perfectly well what Ginny meant.

"Ron."

"Yeah?" he retorted over his shoulder as he busied himself with folding a shirt, something a normal, healthy Ron would never do.

Ginny raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "Don't."

"Fine!" Ron spat, wheeling around to face his nosy sister. "I—BLOODY HELL!" He had meant to explain, once and for all, what had happened the previous day, but stopped as it hit him for the very first time. "I almost BLOODY kissed her! I almost kissed Hermione!" Curiously enough, it had never dawned upon him to think of it this way. And now that it did, he was even more embarrassed and confused than before.

Ginny stood gawking at him for what seemed like hours. "You almost WHAT?!"

"I know! What the bloody hell was I thinking?" he wailed, dropping his head unto his hands.

_No, idiot! It's a good thing!_ That's what Ginny wanted to shout at him. But she decided, in the end, it was his—and Hermione's—problem to sort out. With a comforting pat on Ron's back, she exited the room, whispering disbelievingly to herself, "Those two are impossible…"


End file.
